Sled.



0. L. BEARDSLEY.

SLBD.

APPLIoATloN FILED AUG. 21, 1909.

1,066,445. Patented July 1, 1913,

OTIS L. BEARDSLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SLED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1, 191.3.

Application filed August 21, 1909. Serial No. 513,921.

Y 10 al?, volumi 'it may concern ,"e it known that l, O'riis L. fluannsmn, citizen oit the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county oi Cook and State of Iliinois, have invented a certain new and useful .imprmfenient in Sieds, ot which the following a tull, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invention relates to a sled and more particularly to a sied provided with toldable runners. Its object is to provide simpie and eti'ieient means t'or steering or guiding the course of the sled.

My invention comprises a sled having runners pivoted at each end to the body ol the sled, in such manner as to permit oit the folding of the runners, in coml'iination with steering means, likewise pivotally connected to said runners, 'tor guiding the course o't the sied. `One or both ends of each ot the runners are preterably pivoted in `plates which in turn are pivotal ly secured to the body of the sled to swing in an arc parallel to the surface of said body. The runners are thus capable of being swung laterally and are, thereto-re, more readily guided than if the mere flexing of the runners was alone depended upon for such purpose.

rl`he several features of `my invention may be more readily understood by reterenee to the acconuanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a side elevation et' a sied embodying my invention; Fig. Q is a bottom plan View thereof, showing the runners in their open position; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View, showing the runners in the t'olded position, and also showing a slightly modit'ied means 'tor securing the rear 'portion ot the runners to the sled body; and Fig. t is a fragmentary view in ltmgitudinai section o't thertransverse cross-bar which connects the itorward ends ot the runners and torms a portion ot the steering mechanism.

Like letters ot' reference rei'er to like parts throughout the several views.

Apart ,troni those teatures more particularly relating to the adaptation ot the sled to the guiding control oit a steering lever, the sled shown is similar to that disclosed in my YPatent No. 907,217, dated December 22, 21908, and hence a detail description ot' such parts thereof as have been previously disA closed in said patent is unnecessary. it will be understood that while my present invention 'is preferably embodied in connection with the sled o't the atorementioncd patent, it is not limited to such particular structure.

The runnersl It, l, are shown as each con sisting ot a flexible metallic rod. in the form ot an elongated open loop having its ends pivoted to the body 2, so as to :told underneath said body. )ne or both ends ot. the runners are pre terably provided with swinging pivots, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, re spectively, to permit of a lateral swinging movement ot the runners to guide the course o't the sled and also to permit ot' a folding pivotal movement. lVith this object in view the itorward inturned ends ot' the runners are journaied in bearings provided by the plates 3, 3, one end of each o't said plates being pivote/d by vertical bolts 4 to the body o't the sled and the other end of each ot said plates being provided with an arc shaped slot through which extends the securing bolt 5. The plates 3: nd consequently the runners 1, 1 have thus a limited swinging movement in a plane parallel with the surface ot' the body ot the sled. It desired, pivoted plates 3 may he provided at each end o't the sled as shown in Fig. El, in which latter case the 'trout plates il are preferably pivoted. at their inner ends and the rear platos Il at their outer ends to the body 2. ln such case the runners '1. have a limited lateral swing about the brace arms t3 which engage with said runners. The. Vflexibility ot the runners also conduce to the ready lateral movement oft' the same to guide the course o'l the sled.

lhe forward ends oit the runners project some distance beyond the body Q, and near the extreme 'forward portions ot their inturned ends are connected to a cross-har 7, which 'torms a portion ot the steering 1nechanisln, through the medium ot metallic hands S. liach oli said bands 8 encirclcs the corr-cspoluling runner, the ends ot the band being l'nfought together and pivotaliy secured by a bolt tl to the correspoiuling end ot the cross-bar 7. .lhe runners Il. are thus pivotally secured to tho steering mechanism in such manner as to permit of the folding ot' said runners. 'lhe steering lever is substantially T-shape.d, the ends ol the trans# verse portion Il() o't the T providing portions to be grasped by the hands. 'lhe tree end o'tI thc leg 1? ot the T is pivotally secured at, lt to the Atorward end ot the sled body. 'lhc member 10 overlies the crossbar 7 and is centrally pivoted thereto by means of a bolt 12. Y

My invention thus provides simple and eflicient steering mechanism for guiding the course of a sled, without in anywise interfering with the folding of the runners.l

I claim:

l. In a sled, the combination with a body, of a pair of foldable runners each consisting of a ro-d in the form of an elongated loop having its ends pivoted to said body, the front ends of said runners being provided with swinging pivot-s to permit of both a swinging and a pivotal movement of said ends, folding brace arms pivotally secured to said body and engaging with said runners, and steering means for swinging said runners laterally about said brace arms as pivoted points.

2. In a sled, the combination with a body, of apair of foldable runners each consisting of a rod in the form of an elongated loop having its ends pivoted to said body, the front ends of said runners being provided with swinging pivots to permit of both a swinging and a pivotal movement of said ends, the forward ends of said runners projecting beyond said body, a cross-bar connecting said projecting ends, said cross-bar being pivotally connected at each end to the corresponding runner, and a T-shaped steering lever pivotally secured at the lower end and at the central transverse portion of the T to said body and to said cross-bar, respectively.

3.7In a sled, the combination with a body, of a pair of foldable runners each consisting of a rod in the form of an elongated loop having its ends pivoted to said body, the front ends of said runners being provided with swinging pivots to permit of both a swinging and a pivotal movement of said ends, the forward portions of said runners projecting beyond said body, a crossbar extending between said projecting portions, a metallic band encircling' each of said projecting portions, each of said bands having its ends brought together and pivotally secured to the corresponding end of said cross-bar, and a T-shaped lever having its leg pivotally secured to said body and having its transverse portion loverlying said cross-bar and pivotally secured to the center thereof. l

4. In a sled, the combination with a body, of a pair of foldable runners each consisting of a rod in the form of an elongated loop having its ends pivoted to said body, both ends of said runners being provided with swinging pivots to permit of both a swinging and a pivotal movement of said ends, and steering means fo-r swinging said runners laterally .in either direction.

In witness whereof, I, hereunto subscribe my name this nineteenth day of August, A. D., 1909.

OTIS L. BEARDSLEY. Vitnesses:

GEO. C. DAvisoN, GEORGE E. FOLK.

Copies of this patent inay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

